Inline continuity indicator device

ABSTRACT

An inline indicator device for use in indicating the presence of electrical current to an electrically operated apparatus such as incubators, animal brooders, inaccessible heaters and the like. The indicator device includes a small housing having an electrically operated signal mechanism, preferably a light, controlled by an electromagnetic switch which is energized as long as electrical current is being supplied to the apparatus. The indicator device may be plugged into the electrically operated apparatus as a permanent attachment so that it can be readily determined if the apparatus is operating properly.

[lite States Patent 1191 1111 3,859,646 Schwellenbach 1 1 .Jan. 7, 1975[5 INLINE CONTINUITY INDICATOR DEVICE 612,015 1/1961 Canada 340/252 P 1memo Robert schwellenbachi 1202 132??? 111323 5.2111 .??3i

Sioux Ave., Pierre, s. Dak. 57501 22 F] d: A 27,1973 18 PrimaryExaminer-John W. Caldwell PP ,835 Assistant ExaminerDaniel Myer RelatedApplication Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Williamson, Bains & Moore [63]Continuation of Ser. No. 175,645, Aug. 27, 1971,

abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 340/253 R, 335/258, 340/252 P v [51]' Int.Cl. .t G08b /36 An lnline indicator device for use in indicating the[58] Field of Search 340/253, 248, 252; presence of electrical Currentto an electrically 0per 335/131 258; 307/114 ated apparatus such asincubators, animal brooders, inaccessible heaters and the like. Theindicator device [56] References C'ted includes a small housing havingan electrically oper- UNITED STA S AT T ated signal mechanism,preferably a light, controlled 2,506,171 5/1950 Perillo 307/114 x by anel omagnetic switch which is energized as 2,563,066 8/1951 Procopio....307/1 14 UX long as'electrical current is being supplied to the appa-,629 1/1956 Sidertnan 340/252 R ratus. The indicator device may beplugged into the 2,736,887 2/1956 HunSlcker-- 340/253 C X electricallyoperated apparatus as a permanent attach- 3,09l,725 5/1963 Huston335/258 X mem so that it can be readily determined if the appa 3,312,9674/1967 Levine 340/253 R rams is Operating properly 3,412,395 11/1968Kiene, .lr 340/253 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 3 Cla'lms, 4Drawing Figures 455,645 4/1949 Canada 335/258 21 l 111 18 llllllln... ai i 1: 16

"a I l 20 I 17 /t "11 E I lllllui I:

lllll 14 O Patented Jan. 7, 1975 3,859,646

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INLINE CONTINUITY INDICATOR DEVICE This is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 175,645, filed Aug. 27, 1971, nowabandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INvENTIoN In many types of the electrically operatedapparatus, it is desirable to know instantly or as quickly as possible,when operation of the aparatus is interrupted. This is especially truein such apparatus as incubators, ani mal brooders, various type ofheaters including car heaters, vehicle signal lights and the like. Insome of these devices, one cannot readily determine by mere visualinspection if the apparatus is properly functioning. In incubators,animal brooders and the like, prolonged interruption of the'apparatuswill cause costly consequences.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a smallcompact, inexpensive indicator device, which may be attached to anelectrically operated apparatus, or interposed in the main circuitthereto for producing a signal when current is being supplied to theapparatus. This indicator device includes a small housing having anindicator light connected thereto and including an indicator lightcircuit which is energized when current is supplied to the electricallyoperated apparatus. In one embodiment of the device, the male and femaleelectrical plugs are incorporated in the housing to permit readyconnection of the indicator device to the electrical apparatus withwhich it is being used. The normally opened electomagnetic switch isdisposed within the housing and is closed when current I is supplied tothe electrical apparatus, thereby energizings wherein like referencecharacters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the severalviews.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspectiveview of one embodiment of my apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof illustrating the details ofconstruction of the device and showing it embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings andmore specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that one embodimentof the indicator device, designated generally by the reference numeral10, is there shown. The device includes a cylindrical housing 11 whichis preferably formed of a suitable non-conductive material such asplastic or the like. One end of the cylindrical housing is open and theother end is closed by an end wall 12, as best seen in FIG. 2. Thehousing also has a female electrical coupling member 13 and a maleelectrical coupling member 14 integrally formed therewith and in theembodiment shown, these coupling members project radially outwardly fromthe cylindrical wall and are diametrically opposed with respect to eachother.

The opened end of the cylindrical housing has an inner diameter which isslightly larger than the remaining inner diameter of the housing so thatan annular shoulder 15 is defined adjacent this opened end. A cover 16is positioned against this shoulder and closes the opened end as bestseen in FIG. 2. An externally threaded annular securing ring 17threadedly engages internal threads at the open end and secures thecover 16 in place. An annular gasket formed of a suitable yieldablematerial is interposed between the securing ring 17 and the cover 16 toseal the interior ofthe housing from the exterior.

The cover 16 has a centrally located opening therein for accommodating asmall indicator light 19 therein. Although other signal producingmechanisms may be used, the preferred embodiment of the signal producingmechanism is an indicator light, as shown. As pointed out above, theindicator device is adapted to be connected directly in line with anelectrically operated apparatus and the male plug 14 is thereforeadapted to be connected to a source of electrical current and the femaleplug 13 is adapted for connection directly to the male inlet plug of theapparatus. Thus, the primary circuit for the electrically operatedapparatus includes electrical conductors 20, 21 and 22, and in theembodiment shown, the conductors 21 and 22 comprise a single lineinterconnected by a conventional coupling cap 23. Referring now to FIG.4, the conductor 20 constitutes a grounding line extending between thegrounding elements of the receptacles l3 and 14, and conductor 36, coil35, and conductor 35 conduct current flow between the receptacles andthrough the coil 25 which is electrically connected in series with thereceptacles l3 and 14. When current flows through the coil 25, themovable switch element 29 (FIG. 4) moves from an open position 40 to aclosed position 41 shown in phantom.

However, the circuit for the indicator light 19 includes anelectromagnetic switch 24 which is comprised of a coil 25 wound about asuitable nonconductive hollow cylindrical core element 26, preferablyformed of a suitable plastic or the like. The core element has outturnedradial end flanges 27, one of which has an axial flange 28 integrallyformed therewith and projecting axially therefrom. The hollow coreelement 26 accommodates an elongate armature 29 therein whichconstitutes the movable switch element of the switch. The armature 29has a head 30 thereon for limiting axial movement of the armature whenthe coil 25 is energized. A generally flat leaf spring member 31 issecured to the head 30 and the legs of the spring member 31 arepositioned against the end flanges 27 for urging the armature outwardlyor in a direction towards the indicator light as viewed in FIG. 2.

An internally threaded sleeve 32 is pressed into the other end of a coreelement 26 and this sleeve 32 has an outturned radial flange 33integrally formed therewith and positioned against theadjacent endflange of the core element 26. An elongate stationary switch element 34extends through the sleeve 32 and into the core element 26 and a portionof the shank of this switch element is threaded for threaded engagementwith the threaded sleeve 32. With this arrangement, the position of thestationary switch element may be readily adjusted with respect to thearmature 29. When the coil is not energized the spring member 31 urgesthe armature 29 out of contact with the stationary switch element 34.When the coil is energized, the armature will be urged into engagingrelation with the stationary switch element as shown in FIG. 2. Thecurrent source and the electrically operated apparatus whose performanceis monitored by the device 10 have been omitted from FIG. 2 forsimplification.

An electrical conductor 35 interconnects the coil 25 with the femaleelectric coupling member 13. Similarly, the male coupling element 14 isconnected by an electrical conductor 36 to the sleeve 32 of thestationary switch contact and to the coil 25. An electrical conductor 37interconnects one contact of the light 19 with the spring member 31 andanother electrical conductor 38 interconnects the other lead or contactof the light 19 with the electrical conductors 21-22. A resistor 39 isinterposed in the line 38 for the purpose of reducing the voltage to theindicator light 19.

It will be readily seen from the indicator light circuit that whencurrent is supplied to the electrically oper ated apparatus, theelectromagnetic switch will be energized to energize the indicatorlightcircuit. It will also be noted that the end wall 12 has a threadedopening 41 therein for accommodating the threaded closure plug 40 asbest seen in FIG. 2. With this arrangement, the stationary switchelement 34 is readily accessible to permit adjustment of the switchelement with respect to the armature. M

In use, the indicator device will be plugged directly into theelectrically operated apparatus, such as an incubator, animal brooder orthe like. It will be seen that this is a permanent inline installationso that when the primary circuit ofthe electrically operated apparatusis energized, the indicator light circuit will also be energized so thata perceptible signal is produced. This arrangement is extremelyimportant since it is difficult to determine if certain types ofelectrically operated apparatus are functioning by mere visualinspection. This is true; especially with heating systems, such as thoseused in incubators, animalbrooders andsimilar apparatus. However, thepresent indicator device readily per: mits'a user to be apprised of thefact that the apparatus with whichit is associated isfunctioning-properly.

in the embodiment'shown, the armature 29 is urged toa normally openedposition by the'use of resilient means such as the leaf spring member31. It is also pointed out that the indicator device could be installedso that the armature 29 is normally urged to the opened position by theaction of gravity and this would require that the housing ll be orientedto dispose the armature in a vertical position. Thus the housing 11could be marked with suitable indicia (e.g. this end up) to verticallyorient the armature to normally producedownwardly movement of thearmature to the normal opened condition by action of gravity. Althoughan indicator light is desirable, as pointed out above, other suitablesignal producing mechanisms may also be used.

Referring now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that a slightly modified formof the embodiment is there shown and this device is identical inconstruction to that shown in FIG. 1 except the housing 11a does nothave the male and female plugs integrally formed therewith as a partthereof. The female plug 13a is connected to the housing by suitableelectrical conductors in the form of flexible cable 13b. Similarly, themale coupling member 14a is connected by the main circuit electricconductors in the form of a cable 14b. The light 19a is also connectedby its electrical conductors in the form of a cable 19b to the housing.Using this arrangement, the indicator light may be positioned in aconvenient location, even though the electrically oriented apparatus islocated in a more inaccessible remote location.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that l have provided a novel inlineindicator device which is especially adapted for permanent use with anelectrically operated apparatus to indicate that current is beingsupplied to the apparatus. The indicator device is of inexpensiveconstruction and serves to instantly apprise a user that the associatedapparatus is being provided with current so that it is functioningproperly. As pointed out above, the indicator device may also be used onvehicles to indicate the proper functioning of signal lights or toindicate the proper operation of accessible heaters or the like.

Thus it will be seen that l have provided a novel and improved indicatordevice which is not only of simple and inexpensive construction but onewhich functions in a more efficient manner than any heretofore knowncomparable device.

What is claimed is:

1. A small, compact inline indicator device adapted to be connected .tothe'main circuit of an electrically operated apparatus for indicatingalternating current flow from a source of alternating currentthrough theapparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a female electrical coupling member mounted on said housing toelectrically connect to the source of alternating electrical current,said male and female members being electrically connected to one anotherto permit current flow between the source of alternating current and theelectrical apparatus;

an electromagnetic switch in said housingincluding a coil, an adjustablestationary switch element'projecting interiorlyof said c.oil, anarmature in said coil and defininga movable switch element, saidarmature being in continuous steady contact with said stationary switchelementwhen said coil is energized and being normally urged out ofcontact with the stationary switch element when said coil isde-energized, said coil'being operatively connected in series betweensaid male and female coupling members to be energized by alternatingcurrent flow to the electrical apparatus and being responsive toalternating current flow between said coupling members to immediatelyclose said movable switch element in response to such alternatingcurrent flow and to reopen said movable switch element immediatelywhenalternating current flow between said coupling members ceases;-

an electrically operated signal mechanism producing switch elementcomprises an elongate threaded switch element threadedly connected withsaid core element for movement relative thereto to permit the gapbetween switch elements to be varied.

3. The indicator device as defined in claim 2 wherein 5 ment.

said circuit for energizing said signal mechanism in-

1. A small, compact inline indicator device adapted to be connected tothe main circuit of an electrically operated apparatus for indicatingalternating current flow from a source of alternating current throughthe apparatus, comprising: a housing; a female electrical couplingmember mounted on said housing to electrically connect to the source ofalternating electrical current, said male and female members beingelectrically connected to one another to permit current flow between thesource of alternating current and the electrical apparatus; anelectromagnetic switch in said housing including a coil, an adjustablestationary switch element projecting interiorly of said coil, anarmature in said coil and defining a movable switch element, saidarmature being in continuous steady contact with said stationary switchelement when said coil is energized and being normally urged out ofcontact with the stationary switch element when said coil isde-energized, said coil being operatively connected in series betweensaid male and female coupling members to be energized by alternatingcurrent flow to the electrical apparatus and being responsive toalternating current flow between said coupling members to immediatelyclose said movable switch element in response to such alternatingcurrent flow and to reopen said movable switch element immediately whenalternating current flow between said coupling members ceases; anelectrically operated signal mechanism producing a perceptable signalwhen energized; a circuit for energizing said signal mechanism includingsaid stationary and movable switch elements, said signal mechanismcircuit being constructed and arranged to conduct current therethroughonly when current flows through the electrically operated apparatus,thereby energizing said signal mechanism only when current flows throughthe electrically operated apparatus.
 2. The indicator device as definedin claim 1 wherein said coil includes a core element, and saidstationary switch element comprises an elongate threaded switch elementthreadedly connected with said core element for movement relativethereto to permit the gap between switch elements to be varied.
 3. Theindicator device as defined in claim 2 wherein said circuit forenergizing said signal mechanism includes an elongate leaf spring membersecured between said armature and said core element and projectingoutwardly from said armature for normally urging said armature away fromsaid stationary switch element.